Doctor Who_ Delta and the Bannermen - Malcolm Kohll [35]
Branches cracked all around him as Delta fired another volley from the cottage.
The Chimeron war cry and fusillade of shots brought the Doctor, Billy, Ray and Goronwy rushing from the barn. The Doctor saw Delta standing in the window, her smoking phaser still in her hand. She slowly put her weapon away and was joined by her daughter. The Doctor smiled when he saw the change in the young girl. ‘She saved Delta’s life with her warning cry. She’s entering the singing time,’ he said.
Billy glanced anxiously towards the woods. ‘Do you think there are any more of them?’ he asked.
‘Certainly,’ snapped the Doctor, ‘which is why we should get back to the TARDIS immediately. They could arrive at any time.’ The Doctor raised his voice. ‘Get ready to leave at once!’ he cried. The cottage door opened and Mel appeared, leading the shaken inhabitants.
On board the Bannerman fighter Gavrok snapped a fresh clip into his weapon. The ship’s instruments indicated that they were right above the blipping tracer.
‘Prepare to land,’ he hissed. The pilot locked the craft into
‘DESCEND’ mode.
A strange convoy had assembled outside Goronwy’s cottage. Ray was at the head of the column with the Doctor riding pillion. Behind them was the Vincent with Billy, Delta and her daughter. The final vehicle in the convoy was the Morris, containing Hawk, Weismuller, Burton, Goronwy and Mel. Hawk and Weismuller sat in the front with the others squashed in the back.
‘I see why they call this car a Morris Minor,’ said Weismuller. ‘Next time we’ll go for something a bit bigger
– something more America!’
The Doctor suddenly remembered something. ‘One last touch,’ he muttered. Leaping down from the scooter he took a scarf from around Delta’s neck and stuck it under the closed door of the barn.
He left a scrap of the brightly coloured material projecting from the door and then strode over to the open window of the cottage. He reached in through the window and turned on the radio at full blast.
The Doctor hopped back onto the scooter and gave the signal. ‘Let’s move out!’ he shouted, and the strange convoy started off to the roar of exhausts.
The Bannerman fighter had landed in the corner of the field. The hatch flew open and Gavrok and six of his armed cohorts sprang out. Gavrok stared angrily around, searching for his quarry. ‘What’s this?’ he growled. A terrified Bannerman handed him the portable blip screen.
An unmoving dot appeared on the screen. It equated with a spotted goat which was quietly chewing on a length of twine in the corner of the field. Gavrok strode over to the goat. There, around its neck, was the silver tracker dart, tied in place with a neat pink ribbon. He snatched it off and stared at the dart in his hand.
Gavrok’s face slowly grew purple with rage. He spun around looking for someone to blame. Not wanting to catch Gavrok’s eye his men stared intently at imaginary objects on the ground.
Callon, scratched and bleeding from his flight through the bushes, was gasping as he emerged from the woods. He had run non-stop for several miles. He found himself at the edge of a field with a dry stone wall surrounding it. He glanced up and could hardly believe his good fortune –
there in the far corner of the field was his fighter! And some distance away he saw his beloved leader, standing beside a goat. He couldn’t help noticing the terrible look on Gavrok’s face and hoped that one of his colleagues was in more trouble than him. ‘Gavrok! Gavrok!’ cried the exhausted Callon, clambering over the fence.
Gavrok looked up on hearing his name. What he saw only succeeded in making him more angry. Callon had lost his banners, his weapons and his dignity. He was no longer fit to be called a Bannerman. Gavrok raised his blaster and aimed at the hapless soldier.
Callon felt the blood drain from his face and knew that he would have to act quickly to save his life. ‘I found their hideout, sir!’ he blurted. Gavrok looked with great distaste at the shabby soldier, undecided as to whether or not he